Victory, Oh victory to the Sun God, Who is the lamp to the seven worlds, Who by His rays destroys sin, Who destroys aches and sorrows, Who is lead to by the path of Vedas, Who is the Sun God to the universe, And Who is saluted by all the worlds, And also my salutations to Him who makes the day.

[In the Atharvasiras Upanishad, the three syllable letter, which has meaning and also does not have meaning and which is perennial stands alone. It is told that it is the basis of everything and there is no basis for it.]

The devas with their upturned hands extended upwards pray to Rudra. 1

Om!

He who is Rudra, he alone is god. He is Brahma and we salute him again and again.

He who is Rudra, he alone is god. He is Vishnu and we salute him again and again.

He who is Rudra, he alone is God. He is truth and we salute him again and again.

He who is Rudra, he alone is God. He is everything and we salute him again and again.

Earth is your feet. The Bhuvar Loka (one of the seven worlds above earth) is your middle. And the Suvar Loka (another world above earth) is your head. You are of the form of the universe.

You who are Brahma appear united also divided in to two, and divided in to three and appear as if you are beyond all relations (attachments). You are peace. You are vigour. You are that which is offered in fire and that which is not offered in fire. You are that which is given in charity and that which is not given. You are everything and also nothing. You are the entire universe and you are not. You are that which is done and that which is not done. You are that which is at the top and that which is at the bottom. And you are the home for all beings. 3-1

Deeply drinking the somapana (a holy drink) of your grace we have become deathless. We have reached the ultimate. We have seen the devas. Who can cause any harm to us? We humans do not have any shortage of that nectar (your grace). 3-2

You who are primeval are older than the sun and the moon. 3-3

For the sake of this world, this deathless primeval being, catches hold of this world which is created by Prajapathi and which is minute and peaceful, without touching it and attracts its shape of things by shape, peacefulness by peace, minuteness by minuteness and airy nature by its airy nature and swallows it. Salutations and salutations to that great swallower. 3-4

Those gods who reside in the heart reside in the soul of the heart. And you who live in that heart are beyond the triad nature. [The three letters Aa, Uu and ma or three states viz. wakefulness, sleep and state of dream.] 3-5

The head of “the sound of Om” is on your left side. Its feet are on your right side. That “Sound of Om” is the Pranava(primeval sound). That Pranava is spread everywhere. That which is everywhere is the greatest. That which is limitless, shines like a white star. That which is also called Shuklam (seminal fluid- the basic unit of life) is very very minute. That which is minute is like a lightning power. That which is like lightning power is the ultimate Brahman. That Brahman is one and only one. That one and only one is Rudra (loosely translated angry one), it is also Eeshana (the form of Lord Shiva with tuft and riding on a bull), it is also the ultimate God and it is also the lord of all things. 3-6

Rudra is called the personification of Pranva because he sends the souls towards heaven, at the time of death (dissolution).

He is called the “one who has the shape of Pranava “, because the Brahmins read and propagate the Rik, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas only after reading “om”.

He is called “all pervading “ because like oil in gingili (Til), he peacefully pervades all over the world and its beings, from top to bottom and from right to left.

He is called “Anantha (endless)”, because his end is neither at the top nor bottom, nor right nor left.

He is called “thara (protector)” because he protects one from the fear of life which consists of the fear of staying in the womb, fear at time of birth, fear from diseases, fear from old age and fear from death.

He is called “Shukla (white/ seminal fluid) because by pronouncing his name we get rid of all pains.

He is called “sookshma (minute)”, because he pervades in a minute form all over the body without touching any of the organs.

He is called “vaidhyutha (electric)” because as soon as his name is pronounced , in the state of darkness where nothing is visible, the holy knowledge comes like a ray of lightning.

He is called “Para Brahmam (the ultimate reality)", because though he is inside every thing, he is in and out of everything, he is the refuge of every thing and bigger than the big, he is inside every thing.

He is called “Eka (single)” because he singly destroys everything and recreates everything.

He is called “theertha (sacred water)” because he is the ultimate mingling of all sacred waters which are sought after, in the east, south, north ad west.

He is “Eka (loner)” because he creates all beings and travels within them alone without any one realizing where he comes from and where he goes.

He is “Rudra” because he is fast moving form is not understood by all but only by great sages and devotees.

He is “Eeshana” because by his power for creation and upkeep and also because he rules over all devas (gods).

Like approaching a cow for getting milk, we come to you. You are “Eeshana’ because Veda points you out as one who shows the heaven and one who rules over other Gods.

You are also called “Maheswara (great lord)” because you bless your devotees by giving them knowledge, because you created words and brought out knowledge, and because you have forsaken everything and reached a highest state of existence through yoga and your grace.This is the story of Rudra. 4

This god is the one who pervades in all directions. He is the one who came earlier than every thing. He is the one who is in the womb. He is the one who is in all the creatures which have come out till now and all those who are going to be created in future. He is also the one who sees the inside but the one who has a face which looks outside. 5.1

Rudra is one and only one. There is none second to him. He rules all worlds by his power. He pervades fully in all beings. He is the one who, at the time of deluge, absorbs all beings. He is the one who creates all beings and upkeeps them. 5.2

He alone exists, in all organs where birth takes place. He travels among all beings and is the reason for their existence. The seeker would get immeasurable peace by searching and surrendering to this god, who gives everything to the one who asks and who is praiseworthy. 5.3

He converts fire, air, water, earth, ether and everything that exists here in to ash. He who sees this and mentally realizes it and observes the “penance to Pasupathi (Lord of all beings)” and who coats ash all over his body with this ash attains the state of Brahman. By worshipping “Pasupathi (lord of all beings)” like this, the ties of bondage of all beings get cut and they attain salvation. 5.4

There is none greater than him, on whom all the worlds are strung like beads. Over ages, nothing so far where greater than him and nothing is going to be greater than him. He has thousands of legs but one and only one head. He pervades every where.

From “Akshara (letter/language/ the deathless being)” time is created. From “time (ages) the “all pervasiveness” is created. This “all pervasiveness" is Rudra. Rudra destroys beings even when he is sleeping. From his “breath” is produced the “power of Thamas (darkness)”. From Thamas is created water. Mixing this water with finger makes it cold. By mixing the coolness the “foam” is produced. From that foam, the galaxy is produced. From the galaxy, Brahmam is produced. From Brahmam, air is produced. From air, “the sound of Om” is produced. From “the sound of Om”, Savithri is produced. From Savithri, Gayathri is produced and from Gayathri, all the worlds are produced. They who worship “penance” and “truth”, get permanent happiness. Worshipping that Brahmam, which is the mixture of light, water, essence and nectar, by chanting “om Bhoor bhuva swarom” is the greatest penance.

Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;

May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !

May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,

Praising them with our body and limbs steady !

May the glorious Indra bless us !

May the all-knowing Sun bless us !

May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !

May Brihaspati grant us well-being !

Om ! Let there be Peace in me !

Let there be Peace in my environment !

Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

Here ends the Atharvasiras Upanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.

I meditate on that “ultimate truth”, which explains the meaning “of the sound of Om”, which shines as the fourth leg of Om, which is Thureeya of Thureeyas (A super divine state of oneness with God, which is beyond the three states of wakefulness, sleep and dream), which enjoys being in three legs (syllables) and which is one and only one.

Om!

The sages Pippalada, Aangiras and Sanath Kumara approached the great God like sage, Atharva Maharshi and asked him, “Oh, God like sage, what is the chief aspect of meditation? What is the mantra (holy syllable) on which to meditate? Who can meditate? Who is the God of meditation?” 1.1

The sage Atharva replied to them,” Mainly meditation has to be done on the single letter Om. It itself is the mantra for meditation. The four legs of that mantra are the four devas and the four Vedas. The letter has to be recognized as the Para Brahman (Ultimate reality) and meditated upon. 1.2

The first syllable Aa, indicates earth, the Rig Veda along with its holy chants, Brahma the creator, Ashta Vasus among devas, “Gayathry” among meters, and Garhapthya (the fire of the household) among fires. 1.3

The second syllable Uu denotes the ether, the Yajur Veda, Rudra who is the God of destruction, the eleven Rudras among devas, “Trishgup” among meters and dakshinagni (fire of the south - funeral pyre) among the fires. 1.4

The third syllable Ma indicates the heavens, Sama Veda with its musical sounds of Sama, Vishnu who looks after the worlds, the twelve Adithyas (suns) among devas, “jagathichanda” among meters and Ahavagni (the fire used in fire sacrifice) among the fires. 1.5

That half fourth syllable which is the hidden Ma, is the magical chants of Atharva Veda, Samvarthaka (the fire of exchange) fire among fires, marud Ganas among devas. It is the self glittering Brahman which shines alone and sees everything. 1.6

The first is the red Brahma (creative aspect) , the second the holy white Rudra (destructive aspect), the third the black Lord Vishnu (the administrative aspect) and the fourth which is like lightning is the multi coloured Purushothama (best among males). 1.7

This Omkara has four legs and four heads (fires). The fourth is the half syllable sound of “Ma” which is hidden. That is pronounced in a small short form, slightly extended form (pluthyaga) and much extended form. It is pronounced as Om with one mathra, Om in two mathras and Om in the extended three mathras (mathra is the unit of pronunciation). 1.8

The fourth peaceful half syllable is hidden in the long ended pronunciation. It is the incomparable glitter of the soul. It is that sound which was never there and which will be never there. If not pronounced earlier but pronounced for the first time it, takes one via the Sushumna Nadi to the lotus with thousand petals (Sahasrara). 1.9.

The pranava (the sound of Om) makes all the souls to bow before it. It is the one and only one which has to be meditated upon as the four Vedas and the birth place of all devas. One who meditates like that goes away from all sorrows and fears and gets the power to protect all others who approach him. It is because of this meditation only that Lord Vishnu who is spread every where, wins over all others. It is because Lord Brahma controlled all his organs and meditated upon it, he attained the position of the creator. Even Lord Vishnu , parks his mind in the sound (Om) of the place of Paramathma (ultimate soul) and meditates upon Eeshana, who is most proper to be worshipped. All this is only proper in case of Eeshana. 2.1

Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra and Indra are creating all beings, all organs and all karanas. They are also capable of controlling them. But Lord Shiva exists in between them like sky and is permanently stable. 2.2

It is advised that the five gods Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Ishwara and Shiva should be worshipped in the form of pranava [Aa+Uu+Ma+sound+Bindu(full stop)]. 2.3

Even if for one second, if one can stay and meditate on these, he gets more results than that of performing one hundred fire sacrifices. With the full understanding and knowledge, one should only meditate on paramashiva, which would give rise to all benefits. It is definite that, by sacrificing all other things, the twice born, should learn and understand this and he would get rid of the suffering of living in the womb and attain salvation. 2.4

1. Om. Aruna’s son went to the sphere of Brahma, the Creator, and reaching there said, “Lord, in what way can I relinquish work altogether ?” Brahma said to him: You must give up your sons, brothers, friends, and the rest, your hair-tuft and the holy thread, your sacrifices and books regulating them, your scriptures; must give up the (seven upper) spheres entitled Bhur, Bhuvar, Svar, Mahar, Jana, Tapas, and Satya, and the (seven nether) spheres, viz., Atala, Patala, Vitala, Sutala, Rasatala, Talatala and Mahatala, together with the (whole) universe; and must take on the staff and the scanty clothing of the Sannyasin; you must renounce everything else, aye, everything else.

2. The householder, or the Brahmachari, or the Vanaprashta should commit the fires that lead to the different spheres to the fire that is in the stomach, and consign the sacred Mantra, Gayatri, to the fire that is in his own speech, should throw the holy thread on the ground or into water. The Kutichara living a Brahmachari’s life should give up his relatives, and discard his begging bowl, and the straining-cloth, should give up his triple staves, and the fires that lead to particular spheres. (So said Prajapati). Henceforward he should behave like one who has got no Mantra to repeat, should give up the desire to go to the higher spheres, bathe at the beginning of the three meeting-points of the day, viz., morning, noon, and evening, should effect a union with his Atman through the highest concentration, and from amongst the (whole range of the) Vedas should repeat only the Aranyakas, only the Upanishads, aye, nothing but the Upanishads.

3. Verily I am Brahman, the Sutra; the Sutra is Brahman for It originates (the cosmos); I myself am the sutra because I am a man of realisation – the wise one who has realised this should give up his triple holy thread. “I have renounced, I have renounced, I have renounced” – uttering this thrice he should declare – “From me there is no fear (in word, thought, or deed) to any being, for from me everything has proceeded”. Uttering the Mantra – “That art my friend, so protect me (from cows, serpents, etc.), thou art strength and my friend, in all seen and unseen danger thou art the Thunder of the Lord of the Universe”, etc., he should hold up high the bamboo staff and put on the loin-cloth. He should take food as if it were medicine, aye, as if it were medicine. Carefully guard (oh, ye all who are concerned) your chastity (in thought, word and deed), non-injury, non-acceptance of (superfluous) gifts, non-thieving and truthfulness – guard them by all means, aye, do guard !

4. Now then the duties of the highest class of itinerant monks – the Paramahamsa Parivrajakas (are as follows): They must sit and lie down on the ground. Those having already taken the vow of chastity etc., should use an earthen bowl or one made of gourd, or a wooden bowl; they should give up lust anger, avarice, infatuation, ostentation, haughtiness, jealousy, attachment to objects, egotism, falsehood and the like. The Sannyasin should stay at one place during the four months of the rainy season and during the remaining eight months wander alone, or with a single companion, aye, a single companion.

5. Verily one who has realised the (true) import of the Vedas may give up those things (previously enumerated) after the investiture with the holy thread, or he may do so even before that ceremony – (give up) his father, son, his sacrificial fires, and the holy thread, his works, his wife and all else that he may possess. Sannyasins enter a village for begging purposes only, with their palms or their stomach as the receptacle for food. Uttering “Om” “Om” “Om”, they should mentally place this Mantra, the Upanishad, in the different parts of their body. He who realises the Truth in this manner is really the wise one. He who knows this (and is a Brahmachari taking on the monastic vow) should give up the staff made of the wood of the Palasha (Dhak), Bilva (Marmelos), or Audumbara (Fig) trees, his skin and girdle and the holy thread, etc., and thus be a hero. “That supreme state of the all-pervading Deity the sages realise for all time like the eye pervading from one end of the sky to the other.” “Sages purged of all impurities like anger etc., who have awakened from the sleep (of ignorance), kindle that Truth (in the minds of the enquirers), that supreme state of the all-pervading Deity.” Such indeed is the injunction of the scriptures leading to liberation – the injunction of the Vedas, aye, of the Vedas.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Every intelligent person can, if he considers the problem, realize that through the attainment of birth as a human being, some exceptional gain must accrue to us. Food, drink, sleep, the joy of procreation and other forms of worldly enjoyment can be gained even in lower forms of life like that of beasts and insects. If the life of a human being is wasted only in the attainment of this joy, what do we achieve through the human birth? The supreme goal of human life is to gain that incomparable and true happiness, the like of which there is nothing in the world. The happiness is `God Realization.'

But although this is so, regarding the possession of wealth, women, children and other form of sense-enjoyment only as supreme happiness, the majority of people remain infatuated with them. Dutiful men who strive for real happiness are met few and far between.

The Lord said: "Of thousands of men some rare soul strives to realize Me; of those striving Yogis, again some rare one (devoting himself exclusively to Me) Knowing Me in reality." (Gita VII. 3)

According to this statement of the Lord, nowadays also among the few, who strive for the attainment of true happiness, scarcely any climbs up to the final storey of achievement. The majority of Sadhakas stopafter pursuing a little practice. They cannot, therefore, raise themselves to a superior spiritual level. To my understanding, the following may be the cause of their lack of success: -

1. Qualified propagators of this teaching are very few in the world. For men of renunciation, learning, and right conduct, capable of hard labour, and true saints alone can be the propagators of this teaching.

2. Being satisfied with slight improvements Sadhakas do not feel any need for great spiritual efforts.

3. Some Sadhakas get tired after pursuing a little amount of practice. they find themselves at their wit's end considering their discipline to be of no particular benefit to them.

4. People generally lack faith in the attainment of true happiness, for as in sense-enjoyments, pleasure is not experienced in the initial stages of the spiritual practice. This contributes to lack ofdiligence in the practice.

5. Some people regard the attainment of this happiness as beyond their power, and therefore remain sunk in despair.

Besides these, some other causes also may be mentioned but among them all, ignorance of lack of diligence alone is the primary cause. Man should, therefore, devote himself to the performance of his duty with care and diligence.

I-1-2. The king of Yogins, Nidagha, prostrated flat (like a rod) before Ribhu, that pre-eminent knower of Brahman. Then, rising, that ascetic respectfully said, ‘Teach me the truth about the Self; by what kind of adoration have you, Oh Brahmana, attained this state ?

I-3-4. Teach me that grand science which yields sovereignty over the empire of emancipation. ‘You have done well, Nidagha ! Listen to the eternal science by the knowledge of which alone will you be liberated life. Lodged in Om that envelopes the Root of phenomena (Brahman), supporting the syllable ‘aim’,

I-5-7. ‘Eternal bliss, independent (‘hrim’), renowned, with streaming stresses (‘sauh’), the ruler of the world (‘srim’), Mahalakshmi, (at once) desire (‘klim’), fulfilment, and humanity, is the divine Annapurna. ‘I begged of Her, using the celebrated and quintessential incantation of 27 syllables, cultivated by hosts of female ascetics,

I-8. ‘Namely, aim, hrim, sauh, srim, klim, aum namo bhagavatyannapurne mamabhilashitam annam dehi Svaha. [Salutation, O divine Annapurna, vouchsafe the food I desire]: ‘Thus have I been instructed by my father. From then on have I established myself in (this) discipline, persisting in the activities of my station (in life) and have given myself up to the daily practice of this incantation.

I-9. ‘When many days passed thus, there appeared in front of me Annapurna, wide-eyed, her lotus-face beaming with a smile.

I-10. ‘Seeing her, I prostrated flat on the ground, and (then) stood up with folded hands. “Well, child, you have done well; ask of me a boon, delay not.”

I-11. Oh (Nidagha), best of sages ! Thus hidden by the wide-eyed (deity) I spoke: ‘O Daughter of the mountain, may the truth of the Self dawn on my mind’.

I-12. Saying ‘be it so’ she vanished, then and there. Then, through the perception of the world’s variety the idea (mati) arose in me.

I-13. Delusion appears five-fold; it will be presently set forth. Due to the first delusion, Jiva and God appear to have different forms.

I-14. Due to the second, the attribute of agency dwelling in the Self appears to be real. The third (consists in) deeming the Jiva associated with the three bodies as having attachment.

I-15. The fourth takes the world-cause (God) to be mutable. The fifth delusion ascribes reality to the world as distinguished from its cause. Then, also, in the mind flashes the cessation of the five-fold delusion.

I-17. With humility and respect (Nidagha spoke to Ribhu: impart to me, having faith (in you), the peerless science of Brahman.

I-18. Gratified, Ribhu said: ‘so be it’. I shall impart to you the knowledge of reality, O sinless one. Be a mighty agent, ardent enjoyer, and a great renouncer. Having this investigated your own real nature, be happy.

I-19. ‘I am Brahman, ever manifest, pure, first, endless; there is no room for the slightest dallying with aught else’ – thus think, having become blemishless; achieve Nirvana (permanent peace) having purified and quietened all movements of the mind.

I-20. Know that none of the things seen here is there; it is all like ‘the city in the sky’ and ‘water in the desert’.

I-21. On the other hand, what is nowhere seen, at all, is not given (as an object); beyond the range of the sixth sense, mind, O sage -- assimilate yourself to That.

I-22. Grasp: I am That which is the indestructible, infinite, Spirit, the Self of everything, integral, replete, abundant and partless.

I-23. Due to the absolute contemplation of absence (or nihil), when the mind dwindles, there results the state of the being-in-general (satta-samanya), of that whose essence is unqualified consciousness.

I-24. Surely, devoid of all objective tinge, when consciousness (chit) subsides, there supervenes the exceedingly transparent being-in-general that resembles non-being.

I-25. For the liberated Self, both embodied and disembodied, surely there occurs this ultimate perception known as the state-beyond-the fourth.

I-26. O sinless one, this occurs in the case of the knower both when he has risen from Concentration (Samadhi) and when he is established in it; being born of awareness, this does not happen for the ignorant alone.

I-27. All waverings between states of reasoning, etc., having vanished long since, his face steeped in the lovely light of Brahmic bliss, (the sage) attains the blessed state through right knowledge alone.

I-28. The inner cool (calm repose) of him who perceives this multitude of gunas as non-Self is said to be Concentration.

I-29. The steady mind is empty of latent impulses; the same is (the state of) contemplation. The same also is Aloneness. Besides, it is nothing but perpetual quiescence.

I-30. The mind with attenuated latent impulses is said to be bound for the highest state. Next, the mind, without such impulses, attains the status of the non-doer.

I-31. On the other hand, the mind’s imagination of being the doer is replete with latent impulses; it causes all sufferings; therefore attenuated latent impulses.

I-32. When the imagination of unity with all objects is mentally discarded, due to its constant introverted state, all things are resolved into empty space.

I-33. As crowds in a market, though active, are as good as non-existent (to the observer) when he is not related (to them), so too, to the knower is a village like unto a forest.

I-34. Being inwardly withdrawn, the knower, either asleep, awake, walking or reading, beholds a city, country-side, or village as if it were no other than a forest (i.e. with total disinterestedness).

I-35. Once the inner cool is won, the world is cool. To those scorched by the inner thirst, the world is afire.

I-36. For all (unliberated) beings what is within is projected externally.

I-37. But the lover of the inner Self, though operating through the organs of action, is unaffected by joy and sorrow; he is said to be concentrated.

I-38. He who, as a matter of course and not through fear, beholds all beings as one’s own Self and others’ possessions as clods of earth, alone sees aright.

I-39. Let death come now or at the end of cycles; he remains unblemished as gold (fallen) in mire.

I-40. Consider in your mind: who am I ? How is all this (brought about) ? How do death and birth (happen) ? Thus (considering) will you earn the great benefit (of investigation).

I-41. Your mind will shed its (discursive) form and quietly win repose, once, through investigation, you comprehend your real nature.

I-42. O Brahmin, your mind, cured of its feverishness, no more sinks in empirical activities, as an elephant does not, in the hollow made by a cow’s hoof.

I-43. But a petty mind, O Brahmin, does sink in any petty affair, just as a battered mosquito does, in the water collected in the hollow made by a cow’s hoof.

I-44. O best of ascetics, to the extent all objects are readily renounced, the supreme Self, the transcendent light, alone remains.

I-45. So long as all objects are not renounced, the Self is not won. What remains after the renunciation of the entire objective manifold is said to be the Self.

I-46. Therefore, in order to realize the Self, renounce everything. Having cast off all (objects), assimilate yourself to that which remains.

I-47. Whatever object is beheld in the world around is but the vibration of Consciousness, it is nothing permanent.

I-48. O Brahmin, by the term Samadhi (Concentration) the wise denote transcendent understanding that is concentrated, eternally appeased, and is cognisant of things as they are.

I-49. The term Concentration denotes the stable, mountain-like, status (of the self) that is unagitated, unegoistic, and unrelated to dualities.

I-50. O Brahmin, it denotes the perfected flow of the mind that is sure, choiceless and goalless.

I-51. The best of the knowers of the Vedas, the great ones, win that fourth and stable perception that is fashioned solely through a part of the light of the Spirit.

I-52. (It is) lodged in the heart of all things and not altogether unlike dreamless slumber, when the mind and the ego subside.

I-53. After liquidating the mind with the mind, that state – that supremely divine bliss-body – is automatically won.

I-54. Thence follows the obliteration of all cravings for objects; then dawns the auspicious and superbly splendid light, and then, in the case of the very best, due to the sway of even-mindness

(takes place) the ineffable transformation into the Self’s substance.

I-55. Directly experienced indeed as the God of gods and Self of all entities, moving and stationary is this total and infinite reality of the Self, dwelling in the fast-evolving mind that is quietened externally.

I-56. The unattached, steady, and controlled mind is not in evidence in the worldings; the attached mind, though subjected to long-drawn austerities is, as it were, altogether bound.

I-57. The man free from inner clingings, whose mind dwells on the blissful (Brahman) may or may not act externally; never can he be either agent or experiencer.

II-1. Nidagha: What is attachment like ? What kind of it leads to human bondage ? And what kind of it is said to liberate ? How is this (attachment) cured ?

II-2. (Ribhu): Imagination, ignoring wholly the distinction between the body and the embodied (Self) – the exclusive faith in the body – is the attachment that is said to bind.

II-3. All this is Self: what shall I seek here and what avoid ? Know this to be the position of non-attachment that the Jivanmukta fosters.

II-4. I am not; none, other than me, is; neither this nor the non-other exists. This (attitude) is said to be non-attachment, always maintaining, ‘I am Brahman’.

II-5. He does not approve of inactivity; neither does he cling to activities. He, the renouncer, is the superbly equable (in outlook); he is said to be the non-attached.

II-6. One who mentally, and not in the concrete act alone, renounces fruits, etc., of all his activities – that adept is said to be non-attached.

II-8-9. The mind that clings not to acts, thoughts, and things, to wanderings and reckonings of time, but reposes in Consciousness alone, finding no delight anywhere, even when turned toward some objects, revels in the Self.

II-10. Let him perform or not all this empirical activity; doing or non-doing, his true occupation is Self-delight.

II-11. Or, giving up even that objective element, as stabilised Consciousness, the tranquillised Jiva abides in the Self like a radiant gem.

II-12. The quiescent state of the attenuated mind, free from all objective reference, is said to be the deep sleep in wakefulness.

II-13. This state of slumber, O Nidagha, fully developed through practice, is styled the Fourth by the best knowers of Truth.

II-14. Having attained the indestructible status in this fourth stage, one reaches a non-blissful poise (as it were), its nature being invariably delightful.

II-15. Thence lifted above all relativities, like non-bliss and great bliss, the time-less Yogin, reaching the state beyond the fourth, is said to be liberated.

II-16. With all bonds of birth loosened, and all Tamasic conceits dissolved, the great sage (abides) as the blissful being of the supreme Self like a salt-crystal in water.

II-17. That which is the trans-empirical and experiential reality, present in the (contrasted) perceptions of the material and the conscious, is the essence; Brahman is said to be that.

II-18(a). Bondage is encompassed by the object; on release from this, liberation is said to supervene.

II-18(b)-19. Resting in that unvexed experience, discriminated in the link between the substance and perception, abide you; thus one attains the (peace) of deep sleep. That develops into the Fourth; station your gaze on That.

II-32. Steadfast, blissful, polished, of holy speech, wise, simple and sweet; never given to self-pity;

II-33. Through discipline, when the throb of vital breaths ceases, the mind is wholly dissolved; the impersonal bliss (Nirvana) remains;

II-34. Whence all discursive speech turns back. With the obliteration of all of one’s mental constructions that (Brahmic) status abides.

II-35. Here is the supreme Self whose essence is the light of Consciousness without beginning or end; the wise hold this luminous certitude to be the right knowledge.

II-36. The plenitude due to the knowledge ‘all the world is Self alone’ is the right measure of Self-realization everywhere in the world.

II-37. All is Self alone; what are the (empirical) states being and non-being ? Where have they fled ? Where are those notions of bondage and liberation ? What stands out is Brahman alone.

II-38. All is the one supreme Sky. What is liberation ? What is bondage ? This is the great Brahman, established mightily, with extended form; duality has vanished far from It; be you, yourself, the Self alone.

II-39. When the form of a stock, stone and cloth is seen aright, there is not even a shadow of difference; bent on imagination (of differences) where are you ?

II-40. This imperishable and tranquil essence, (present) at the beginning and end of things and yourself, always be That.

II-41. With mental distinctions of duality and non-duality and delusions of old age and death, the Self alone shines in its phases (atmabhih) just as the sea, in its (phases of) waves.

II-42. What enjoyment of the desired (fruits) can disturb him, who dwells steadfast, ever wedded, in thought, to the pure Self that fells the tree of dangers, to the status of bliss supreme ?

II-43. Mental enjoyments are the foes of one who has thought extensively; they move him not in the least just as gentle breezes move not a hill at all.

II-44. ‘Plurality exists in diverse imaginings, not really, within; just as there is nothing but water in a lake’ – a man filled with this one certitude is said to be liberated; he who has perceived the

Real.

III-1. (Nidagha): What is the nature of liberation without the body ? Who is the great sage in possession of it ? Resorting to which Yoga has he achieved that supreme status ?

III-2. Ribhu: In the region of Sumeru the celebrated sage Mandavya resorting to Truth (imparted by) Kaundinya became liberated in life.

III-3. Having attained the status of Jivanmukti, that foremost knower of Brahman, that great sage, made up his mind, once upon a time, to withdraw all his sense-organs (from their respective objects).

III-5. Then he, with his sinless mind, (reflected on) the (degree of) steadiness of his mind: ‘clearly, though withdrawn, this mind of mine is extremely restless’.

III-6. It wanders from a cloth to a pot and thence to a big cart. The mind wanders among objects as a monkey does from tree to tree.

III-7. The five openings, eyes and so forth, known as the sense organs of cognition, I am watching carefully with my mind.

III-8. O you sense-organs ! Slowly give up your mood of agitation. Here I am, the divine spiritual Self, the witness of all.

III-9. With that all-knowing Self, I have comprehended (the nature of) eyes, etc. I amcompletely secure and at peace. Luckily I am fearless.

III-10. Incessantly I rest in my Self, the Fourth; my vital breaths, its extensions, have all, in due order, subsided within.

III-11. (I am) as a fire with its multitudinous flames, when the fuel has been consumed; it blazed forth but now is extinguished – the blazing fire has, indeed, been extinguished.

III-12. Having been purified utterly, I remain equable, enjoying all alike, as it were. I am awake though in deep sleep; though in deep sleep, I am awake.

III-13-14. Resorting to the Fourth, I remain within the body with a stable status, having abandoned, together with the long thread of sound reaching upto OM, objects in all the three worlds fashioned by imagination.

III-15. As a bird, for flying in the sky, leaves the net (in which it was enmeshed), the great sage sheds (his) identification with the sense-organs; then (he sheds) his awareness of limbs which has become illusory.

III-16. He has won the knowledge of a new-born infant; as if the air should give up its power to vibrate, he has terminated the proneness of consciousness to attach itself to objects.

III-17. Then, attaining the unqualified state of Consciousness – the state of pure Being –resorting, (as it were), to the state of dreamless slumber, he has stayed immovable like a mountain.

III-18. Winning the stability of dreamless sleep he has attained the Fourth; though gone beyond bliss, (he is) still blissful; he has become both being and non-being.

III-19. Then he becomes that which is beyond even the range of words which is the nihil of the nihilist and Brahman of the knowers of Brahman;

III-20. Which is the pure blemishless cognition of the knowers of cognition, the Purusha of the Sankhyas and Ishvara of the Yogins;

III-21. The Shiva of the Shivagamas; the Time of those who affirm Time alone (as the basic principle); the final doctrine of all Shastras, and what conforms to every heart;

III-22. Which is the All, the all-pervading Reality, the Truth. He has become That, the unuttered, the moveless, the illuminator even of lights;

III-23. The Principle whose sole proof is one’s experience of It – he has remained as That.

III-24. That which is unborn, deathless, beginningless and the First immaculate state, whole and impartite – he has remained as That; a state subtler than that of the sky. In a moment, he has become the hallowed God.

IV-1. Has the Jivanmukta characteristics like the power to fly in space, etc., ? If so, great sage, it is not present in the perfected man (described above).

IV-2. O Brahmin, a non-knower of the Self, still in bondage, achieves (the powers) to fly in space, etc., by virtue of (specific) substances, incantations, practices and potencies of time.

IV-3. This is not the concern of the Self-knower. One having contentment in one’s Self never hankers after (the phenomena of) nescience.

IV-4. Whatever objects are present in the world are (held to be) of the stuff of nescience. How can the great Yogin, who has dispelled nescience, plunge into them ?

IV-5. Whichever confounded person or man of little understanding desires the group of Yogic powers achieves them, one by one, through set practices, instrumental to them.

IV-6. Substances, incantations, actions applied at (the right) time, yield Yogic powers all right. None of them lifts man to the status of God.

IV-7. Only influenced by some desire does man work for miraculous powers. The perfect man, seeking nothing, can have no desire whatsoever.

IV-8. When all desires dry up, O sage, the Self is won. How can the mindless (sage) desire miraculous powers ?

IV-9. The man liberated in life would feel no surprise were the sun to radiate cool light, the moon scorching rays or the fire to blaze downwards.

IV-10. (The whole world) is superimposed on the supreme Reality, the Ground, as the snake is on the rope. No curiosity is aroused as regards these superimposed wonders.

IV-11. Those indeed who have known what is to be known and shed all attachments, whose intellect is great, the knots of whose hearts have been cut, are free, though living in the body.

IV-12. Dead is his mind who is unmoved in joy and sorrow, and whom nothing jerks out of equality, even as breaths stir not a mighty mountain.

IV-13. Dead is the mind of one who is undisturbed by danger, resourcelessness, energy, hilarity, dullness, or great rejoicing.

IV-14. The destruction of mind is twofold, determinate and indeterminate. In (the state of) liberation in life it is determinate; in that of disembodied liberation it is indeterminate.

IV-15. The presence of mind makes for sorrow; its destruction promotes joy. Attenuate the existent mind and bring about its destruction.

IV-16. The nature of mind, know, is folly, O sinless one ! When that perishes one’s real essence, mindlessness, is (won).

IV-17. The mind of one liberated in life, having qualities like friendliness, etc., is rich in noble impulses; it is never reborn.

IV-18. This ‘destruction’ of the Jivanmukta’s mind is determinate; Nidagha, with disembodied liberation comes indeterminate destruction.

IV-19. One liberated in disembodiment is he who realizes the partless Self; his mind, the abode of all excellent qualities as it was, is dissolved.

IV-20-21. In that supremely holy, blemishless status of disembodied liberation, marked by ‘mindlessness’, in that state of indeterminate destruction of the mind, just nothing remains, neither qualities nor their absence; neither glory nor its absence; nothing (whatsoever) of the

IV-23. The spacious status of those (who are liberated in disembodiment), who have gone beyond intellect and the pomp of worldly life, is like the sky, the abode of the winds.

IV-24. The great (Jivanmuktas) whose bodies are the subtle ether become disembodied there (in the state of disembodied liberation); all their sufferings are cured; they are immaterial; totally quiescent, immobilized in bliss, beyond Rajas and Tamas. In that state dissolve the remnants of their mind.

IV-26. That eternally self-shining Light, illuminating the world, is alone the witness of this world, the Self of all, the pure One.

IV-27. As massed Intelligence It is the ground of all beings. That non-dual Brahman characterised by truth, knowledge, and bliss is the object of knowledge.

IV-28-29. The sage fulfils his duty with the realization, ‘I am the one Brahman’; (Brahman is) the ground of all, non-dual, supreme, eternal, of the essence of being, intelligence, and bliss, beyond the range of word and mind.

IV-30. There shine not the forms of the moon and the sun; the winds blow not; and none of the gods (are there). This divinity alone shines forth as being, pure by itself, free from rajas.

IV-31. The knot of the heart is split; all doubts are cut asunder. All his actions dwindle when He, who is both here and beyond, is seen.

IV-32. In this body are the birds, called the Jiva and the Lord, dwelling together. Of them the Jiva eats the fruit of action, not the great Lord.

IV-33. Alone as the Witness, without participation, the great Lord shines by Himself. Through Maya is set up the difference between them. Spirit is other than Its form; as It does not dwindle, the Spirit is non-different (from all objects).

IV-34. As the unity of the Spirit is established through reasoning and means of right knowledge, once that unity is comprehensively known, one no more sorrows; nor is one deluded.

IV-35. Having the certain knowledge, ‘I am the ground of the whole world, solid Truth and Knowledge’, the sage may dispel (all) sorrow.

IV-36. Those whose flaws have (all) been attenuated realize in their own bodies the Witness of all, whose essence is self-luminous Being; not those others who are encompassed by Maya.

IV-37. Knowing Him alone, let the intelligent Brahmana build up wisdom; let him not dwell on a multitude of words that only makes for verbal weariness.

IV-38. Having mastered the knowledge of Brahman let him live in childlikeness alone. Having mastered both Brahman-knowledge and childlikeness, the sage possesses the Self.

IV-39. Know the elemental body as the seed of the creeper of samsara (the transmigratory life) with its immense sprouts, good and evil, having their potencies latent (in the body).

IV-40. Of this body, the seed is the mind conforming to cravings; it is a sheath of active and quiescent moods, a casket holding the gem of pain.

IV-41. The tree of the mind has two seeds; one is the vibration of the vital breath; the other, obstinate imagination.

IV-42. When the vital breath, aroused by nervous contacts, vibrates, at once the mind is transformed into a mass of sensations.

IV-43. That all-pervading awareness is aroused by the vibration of the vital breath. It is better to suppress the awareness (of objects); less harmful is the vibration of the vital breath, etc.

IV-45. Know the supreme cause yielding the fruit of mental peace: (namely) the joyful Self-abidance of cognition that is known as breath-control.

IV-46. Latent impression is said to consist in the seizing of an object (by the force of) entrenched imagination, despite all considerations of cause and effect.

IV-47. Rejecting everything and imagining nothing, either to be chosen or rejected, the mind remains (in itself); now is the mind unborn.

IV-48. Being continuously free from latent impressions, when the mind ceases to ponder there arises mindlessness that yields supreme tranquillity.

IV-49. When no aspect of objects in the world is imagined how can the mind be born in the empty sky of the heart ?

IV-50. The conception of a thing’s absence is based on its non-being; mindlessness is posited with reference to the object-as-such.

IV-51. The mind abiding coolly in itself, after the inner rejection (of all objects), though in modifications, is (still) held to have the form of non-being.

IV-52. They indeed are deemed liberated in life whose latent, unenjoyed, impressions are like the fried seeds, incapable of sprouting any more.

IV-53. Their minds have acquired the form of Sattva; they have gone beyond the farther shore of knowledge; they are said to be mindless. With the fall of their bodies they become sky-like.

IV-54. Due to rejection of objects, both the vibrations of vital breaths and latent impressions swiftly perish as does a tree whose root is cut off.

IV-55. In this state of cognition, whatever appears either as experienced before or as altogether new, must be meticulously wiped out by every one whose knowledge is sound.

IV-56. The vast transmigratory life is (due to) the failure to obliterate them; on the contrary, liberation is held to be just their obliteration.

IV-57. Be immaterial (spiritual), rejecting all pleasures and cognitions.

IV-58. Knowledge depends on the states of objects; one having no knowledge is non-cognitive,

though he performs a hundred actions; he is held to be non-inert.

IV-59. He is said to be liberated in life, the clear sphere of whose emotions is not in the least affected by objects; his knowledge is spiritual.

IV-60. Due to the absence of latent impressions in the mind when nothing is imagined, it remains steady with cognitions similar to those of children and the dumb.

IV-61. Now the sage is no longer affected; for he resorts to the vast intelligent non-knowing (in the objective mode).

IV-62. Through the concentration of modelessness, rejecting all latent impressions, he becomes one with it; in the Infinite even that is dissolved.

IV-63. Though standing, walking, touching, smelling, the intelligent sage, devoid of all clingings, gets rid of (fluctuating) pleasures, and the cognitions (of the particulars); he is at peace.

IV-64. A shoreless ocean of excellences, he crosses the sea of sufferings, because he resorts to this vision even in the midst of vexed activities.

IV-65. Devoid of all particular the stainless, pure Being is one vast essence – That is held to be the abode of (immutable) existence.

IV-66. Rejecting distinctions like the being of time, the being of instants, the being of entities, be solely devoted to pure Being.

IV-67. Contemplating but one unqualified universal Being, be omnipresent, full, supremely blissful, filling up all space.

IV-68. The pristine inconceivable Status, without beginning and end, that remains at the fringe of universal Being, is causeless.

IV-69. Cognitions dissolve there. It remains beyond the possibility of doubts. A man who reaches That returns to pains no more.

IV-70. It is the cause of all beings; itself has no cause. It is the quintessence of all essences; nothing is more quintessential that It.

IV-71. In that vast mirror of Intelligence, all these perceptions of objects are reflected as the trees on the bank are reflected in the lake.

IV-72. That is the pure unobscured Truth of the Self; when that is known the mind is tranquillised. Having, through knowledge, won Its essence you become truly free from the fear of samsara.

IV-73. By the application of the remedies mentioned by me for the causes of suffering, that (supreme) status is attained.

IV-74-75. O knower of Truth ! If by manly endeavour you forcefully eschew latent impressions and establish yourself, all alone, in that indestructible status, even for a moment, at the very summit of universal being, well, at this very moment you achieve it all right;

IV-76. Or, if you sedulously cultivate the status of universal being, that status you will attain with somewhat greater effort.

IV-77. Nidagha, if you stay meditating on the principle of cognition, through (still) greater effort you will win that exalted status.

IV-78. Or, sir, if you strive to shed latent impressions (know) that till the mind is dissolved, the latent impressions, too, are not attenuated.

IV-79. As long as the latent impressions are not attenuated, the mind is not tranquillised; as long as the knowledge of truth is not won, whence can come mental tranquillity ?

IV-80. As long as the mind is not tranquil, Truth cannot be known; so long as the knowledge of Truth is not won whence can mental tranquillity come ?

IV-81-82. Knowledge of Truth, mind’s destruction, attenuation of latent impressions – (these) mutually cause one another; they are indeed hard to accomplish. Therefore, flinging far from you the desire for enjoyment, cultivate this triad.

IV-83. High-souled one ! Sought for long and simultaneously, the attenuation of latent impressions, knowledge (of Truth), and the destruction of the mind are held to prove effective.

IV-84. By means of these three, cultivated aright, the tough knots of the heart are shattered without residue as are their threads when the lotus stalks are crushed.

IV-86. By eschewing latent impressions the mind ceases to be; also by obstructing the vibrations of the vital breath (it does so); do (the one or the other) as you choose.

IV-87. By the steady practice of breath-control, the exercise of reasoning taught by the teacher, the practice of Yogic postures and the regulation of diet, the vibration of breath is obstructed.

IV-88. Through behaviour without attachment, avoidance of contemplation of birth (and empirical life) and the perception of the decline of the body, latent impressions cease to operate.

IV-89. The vibration of the vital breath is indeed the same as mind’s vibration. The intelligent man should strive hard to conquer vibrations of the vital breath.

IV-90. Without sound reasoning it is impossible to conquer the mind. Resorting to pure cognition and rejecting attachment, be steady.

IV-91. O great-souled one ! Abide solely in the heart, contemplating without conceptions the pristine, single, matchless and indubitable status of cognition without objects; but perform action, having achieved the status of inactivity in the blaze of tranquil glory.

IV-92. The man who, through ratiocination, in however small a measure, has slain his mind has achieved the object of his life.

V-1. He is said to be dead whose mind is not given over to investigation when he walks or stands; when he is awake or sleep.

V-2. Know the Spirit-in-Itself to be of the nature of the light of right knowledge. It is fearless; neither subjugated nor depressed.

through contact with poison, well-cooked or stale, as though it were ‘sweet’ (i.e. a hearty meal).

V-4. The (wise) know liberation to be the renunciation of (all) attachment: non-birth results from it. Give up attachment to objects; be liberated in life, O sinless one !

V-5. Attachment is held to be the impure impressions causing reactions like joy and indignation when the objects sought after are present or absent.

V-6. Pure is the impression latent in the bodies of the liberated in life which does not lead to rebirth and is untainted by elation or depression.

V-7. O Nidagha ! Pains do not depress you; joys do not elate you; abandoning servitude to desires, be unattached.

V-8. ‘Undetermined by space and time, beyond the purview of ‘is’ and ‘is not’, there is but Brahman, the pure indestructible Spirit, quiescent and one; there is nothing else’.

V-9. Thus thinking, with a body at once present and absent, be (liberated), the silent man, uniform, with quiescent mind delighting in the Self.

V-10. There is neither mind -stuff nor mind; neither nescience nor Jiva. Manifest is the one Brahman alone, like the sea, without beginning or end.

V-11. The illusory perception of mind, etc., continues as long as the I-sense is bound up with the body, objects are mistaken for the Self, and the sense of possession, expressed as ‘this is mine’, persists.

V-12. Sage ! Illusory perceptions of mind, etc., vanish for one who, through introversion, internally burns up, in the fire of the Spirit, the dry grass that is this three-fold world.

V-13. I am the Self that is the Spirit; I am impartite. I have neither cause not effect. Remember your vast (infinite) form; through memory, do not be finitized.

V-14. By means of the mantra (incantation) of the spiritual science, contemplated within, the deadly disease of craving dwindles as does mist in autumn.

V-15. (The sages) hold that the best (form of) renunciation, namely that of latent impressions, by virtue of knowledge, is the status of Aloneness, as it is pure universal Being.

V-16. Where latent impressions remain in solution there is ‘deep sleep’; it does not make for perfection. Where the impressions are seedless, there is ‘the Fourth’ that yields perfection.

V-17. Even a very small residue of latent impressions, of fire, debt, disease and adversaries, of attachment, enmity and poison affects one adversely.

V-18. With the seeds of latent impressions consumed, and conformed to universal Being, with or without a body, one no more partakes of sufferings.

V-19. The decision, ‘This is not Brahman’, is the sum total of nescience, whose extinction consists in (the opposite) decision, ‘this is Brahman’.

V-20. Brahman is Spirit, Brahman is the world. Brahman is the congregation of beings, Brahman is myself, Brahman is the adversary of the Spirit, Brahman is the allies and friends of the Spirit.

V-21. Once it is realized that Brahman is all, man is Brahman indeed ! One experiences the omnipresent Spirit that is peace.

V-22. When the mind, the guide of unregenerate senses, ceases to operate in regard to the alien, the immaculate, all-pervading awareness (that remains), the Brahman-Intelligence, am I.

V-23. Resort to that intelligent Self, having discarded all speculations, all curiosity, all vehemence of feelings.

V-24. Thus intelligent beings, with full knowledge, equanimous, with minds rid of all attachment, neither applaud nor condemn either life or death.

V-25-26. O Brahmin, the vital breath has the ceaseless power of vibration; it always moves. In this body with its ins and outs, this up going vital breath is placed above; the down breath too is similar; only it is stationed below.

V-27. That best breath control that operates in the expert, whether awake or asleep – listen to (an account of) that for better being.

V-28. Puraka is the contact of the body with the up-breaths that move forwards (from the nostrils) through the space of twelve finger-breadths.

V-29. Apana (the down-breath) is the moon that keeps the body in well-being, O well-disciplined sage ! The up-breath is the sun or the fire which internally warms the body.

V-30. Resort to the spiritual identity of the down-and-up breaths that dwells near the point where the up-breath dwindles and the down-breath rises.

V-31. Resort to that spiritual, impartite Principle when the down-breath has set and, for a moment, the up-breath has not yet arisen.

V-32. Resort to that spiritual impartite Principle, at the tip of the nose where the breaths revolve, before the down-breath sets while the up-breath has done so.

V-33. These three worlds are only an appearance, neither existent nor non-existent; (the consequent) renunciation of all concern with an other, the wise maintain, is right knowledge.

V-34. Noble Brahmin ! Even this appearance is distorted by the mirror of the mind. Therefore, giving up that, too, be rid of all appearances.

V-35. Uprooting this fearful demon of the mind, detrimental to the essence of steadiness, remain what you are; be steadfast.

V-36. The Spirit that is beyond cause and effect and is likened to the (boundless) sky is incapable of confrontation by any (real) object; it remains at the end of all mental processes.

V-37. The satisfaction (felt) at the moment of desire is caused by that very desire. This satisfaction lasts only till discontent (sets in); therefore, reject desire.

V-38. Reduce desire to desirelessness; let conceptions cease; let mind grow into mindlessness in the process of your life without attachment.

V-39. Acting through sense organs, free from (the force) of latent impulses, like the sky, you would not alter though there be a thousand disturbances.

V-40. Due to the activity and the inactivity of the mind does empirical life start and subside. Through the suppression of latent impulses and the vital breath, reduce the mind to inactivity.

V-41. Due to the activity and inactivity of the vital breaths does empirical life start and subside. Through drill and application, reduce it to inactivity.

V-42. Due to the active and passive phases of ignorance do activities get started and cease. Dissolve it (ignorance) forcefully by winning a teacher and the instructions of the Shastras.

V-43. By a mere quiver of the non-objective knowledge or by the suppression of vital breaths is mind reduced to mindlessness; that is the supreme status.

V-44. Through the perception of Brahman, infallibly directed to it (bliss), behold that real bliss occasioned by the visioning of the knowable (as Brahman).

V-45. That indeed is the non-factitious bliss which the mind does not reach; it is free from decline and growth; it neither rises nor sets.

V-46. The mind of the knower is not called mind; mind indeed is the Truth of Spirit. Therefore, in the Fourth state, it transcends that state.

V-47. Having renounced all mental constructions, equable, and with a quiescent mind, be a sage, wedded to the Yoga of renunciation, possessing both knowledge and freedom.

V-48. The supreme Brahman is that which conforms to no act of mentation. (It is what remains) when mental activities completely die down and all masses of latent impulses have been

liquidated.

V-49. By securing right knowledge, and by unremitting concentration, those who become enlightened in the wisdom of the Upanishads are the Sankhyas and the others are the Yogins.

V-50. Those are the Yogins, versed in Yoga, who, after the quiescence of the breaths through ascetic practices, achieve the status above sufferings, beginningless and endless.

V-51. What is required to be won by all is the uncaused and still status; the contemplation of the one changeless Real, the control of breaths, the dwindling of the mind.

V-52. When one of them is perfected, it helps perfect the others (also). The vital breaths and mind of living beings are all concomitant.

V-53. Like the container and the content they perish when only one is present. Through self-destruction they produce that best of products, namely, liberation.

V-54. If, remaining steady, you reject all this by understanding, then, on the cessation of the I-sense, you yourself are the supreme Status.

V-55. There is but one great Spirit, which is called the Being; it is flawless, even, pure, free from the I-sense.

V-56. It shines forth but once, the pure, the ever risen, the same. It is described by many names, as Brahman, the supreme Self, etc.

V-57. O Nidagha, knowing for creation ‘I am That’, having done what had to be accomplished, I never think of the past or the future.

V-58. I cling wholly to the vision that is present here (and now). ‘This have I won today; I shall achieve this beautiful’ (thing).

V-59. I laud not; neither do I condemn. Nothing other than the self is anywhere. The gaining of the good does not gladden me; evil betiding me does not sadden me.

V-60. Sage, the waverings of my mind have been totally stilled; it is rod of all sorrow. It is cured of all wantings. It is tranquil. Therefore I am hale, and untrammelled.

V-61. ‘This is a friend; that is a foe; this is mind; that is a stranger’ – this sort of knowledge does not occur to me, O Brahmin; no affection touches me.

V-62. Rid of all latent impressions, the mind is liberated from old age and death. Mind with latent impressions inherent in it is knowledge. What is to be known is the mind rid of all latent

impressions.

V-63. When the mind is rejected, this duality on all sides is dissolved; but remains the tranquil supreme One, pure and untrammelled.

V-64. The endless, unborn, unmanifest, unageing, tranquil, unlapsing, non-dual, beginningless and endless which (nevertheless) is the first Apprehension.

Monday, October 27, 2008

On this Deepavali Day, we are busy lighting candles to spread light around us. But we have to consider ourselves when will be a candle?

The candle gives light and in the process, burns itself. When shall we likewise?

The Sufi mystic Rabia once sent three things to Hasan – a piece of wax, a needle and a hair.

Hasan could not get the message. And Rabia explained to him: “Like wax light up the world by burning yourself. Like a needle stitch garment for others while you remain naked. And make your ego thin as a hair, so that you may not even be aware of the good you have done.”

Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;

May we work conjointly with great energy,

May our study be vigorous and effective;

May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).

Om ! Let there be Peace in me !

Let there be Peace in my environment !

Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

1. The wise, having studied the Shastras and reflected on them again and again and having come to know Brahman, should abandon them all like a fire-brand.

2-3. Having ascended the car of Om with Vishnu (the Higher Self) as the charioteer, one wishing to go to the seat of Brahmaloka intent on the worship of Rudra, should go in the chariot so long as he can go. Then abandoning the car, he reaches the place of the Lord of the car.

4. Having given up Matra, Linga and Pada, he attains the subtle Pada (seat or word) without vowels or consonants by means of the letter ‘M’ without the Svara (accent).

5. That is called Pratyahara when one merely thinks of the five objects of sense, such as sound, etc., as also the very unsteady mind as the reins of Atman.

6. Pratyahara (subjugation of the senses), Dhyana (contemplation), Pranayama (control of breath), Dharana (concentration), Tarka and Samadhi are said to be the six parts of Yoga.

7. Just as the impurities of mountain-minerals are burnt by the blower, so the stains committed by the organs are burned by checking Prana.

8. Through Pranayamas should be burnt the stains; through Dharana, the sins; through Pratyahara, the (bad) associations; and through Dhyana, the godless qualities.

9. Having destroyed the sins, one should think of Ruchira (the shining).

10. Ruchira (cessation), expiration and inspiration – these three are Pranayama of (Rechaka, Puraka and Kumbhaka) expiration, inspiration and cessation of breath.

11. That is called (one) Pranayama when one repeats with a prolonged (or elongated) breath three times the Gayatri with its Vyahritis and Pranava (before it) along with the Siras (the head) joining after it.

12. Raising up the Vayu from the Akasa (region, viz., the heart) and making the body void (of Vayu) and empty and uniting (the soul) to the state of void, is called Rechaka (expiration).

13. That is called Puraka (inspiration) when one takes in Vayu, as a man would take water into his mouth through the lotus-stalk.

14. That is called Kumbhaka (cessation of breath) when there is no expiration or inspiration and the body is motionless, remaining still in one state.

15. Then he sees forms like the blind, hears sounds like the deaf and sees the body like wood. This is the characteristic of one that has attained much quiescence.

16. That is called Dharana when the wise man regards the mind as Sankalpa and merging Sankalpa into Atman, contemplates upon his Atman (alone).

17. That is called Tarka when one makes inference which does not conflict with the Vedas. That is called Samadhi in which one, on attaining it, thinks (all) equal.

18-20. Seating himself on the ground on a seat of Kusa grass which is pleasant and devoid of all evils, having protected himself mentally (from all evil influences), uttering Ratha-Mandala, assuming either Padma, Svastika, or Bhadra posture or any other which can be practised easily, facing the north and closing the nostril with the thumb, one should inspire through the other nostril and retain breath inside and preserve the Agni (fire). Then he should think of the sound (Om) alone.

21. Om, the one letter is Brahman; Om should not be breathed out. Through this divine mantra (Om), it should be done many times to rid himself of impurity.

22. Then as said before, the Mantra-knowing wise should regularly meditate, beginning with the navel upwards in the gross, the primary (or less) gross and subtle (states).23. The greatly wise should give up all (sight) seeing across, up or down and should practise Yoga always being motionless and without tremor.

24. The union as stated (done) by remaining without tremor in the hallow stalk (viz., Susumna) alone is Dharana. The Yoga with the ordained duration of twelve Matras is called (Dharana).

25. That which never decays is Akshara (Om) which is without Ghosha (third, fourth and fifth letters from 'K’), consonant, vowel, palatal, guttural, nasal, letter ‘R’ and sibilants.

26. Prana travels through (or goes by) that path through which this Akshara (Om) goes. Therefore it should be practised daily, in order to pass along that (course).

27. It is through the opening (or hole) of the heart, through the opening of Vayu (probably navel), through the opening of the head and through the opening of Moksha. They call it Bila (cave), Sushira (hole), or Mandala (wheel).

28. (Then about the obstacles of Yoga): A Yogin should always avoid fear, anger, laziness, too much sleep or waking and too much food or fasting.

29. If the above rule be well and strictly practised each day, spiritual wisdom will arise of itself in three months without doubt.

30. In four months, he sees the Devas; in five months, he knows (or becomes) Brahma-Nishtha; and truly in six months he attains Kaivalya at will. There is no doubt.

31. That which is of the earth is of five Matras (or it takes five Matras to pronounce Parthiva-Pranava). That which is of water is of four Matras; of Agni, three Matras; of Vayu, two;

32. And of Akasa, one. But he should think of that which is with no Matras. Having united Atman with Manas, one should contemplate upon Atman by means of Atman.

33. Prana is thirty digits long. Such is the position (of range) of Pranas. That is called Prana which is the seat of the external Pranas.

34. The breaths by day and night are numbered as 1,13,180 [or 21,600 - ?].

35. (Of the Pranas) the first viz., Prana is pervading the heart; Apana, the anus; Samana, the navel; Udana, the throat;

36. And Vyana, all parts of the body. Then come the colours of the five Pranas in order.

37. Prana is said to be of the colour of a blood-red gem (or coral); Apana which is in the middle is of the colour of Indragopa (an insect of white or red colour);

38. Samana is between the colour of pure milk and crystal (or oily and shining), between both (Prana and Apana); Udana is Apandara (pale white); and Vyana resembles the colour of archis (or ray of light).

39. That man is never reborn wherever he may die, whose breath goes out of the head after piercing through this Mandala (of the pineal gland). That man is never reborn.

Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;

May we work conjointly with great energy,

May our study be vigorous and effective;

May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).

Om ! Let there be Peace in me !

Let there be Peace in my environment !

Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

Here ends the Amritanada Upanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.

He is Brhama, He is Vishnu,He is Shiva, He is Skanda,He is the progenitor of human race,He is the king of devas,He is Kubhera, the lord of all riches.He is Kala, the God of death,And He is the moon also He is Varuna

He is the manes, He is the Gods called Vasus,He is the gods called sadhya, He is the Aswini devathas, the doctors of Gods,He is the maruths who are responsible for breeze,He is the wind God, He is the fire God,He is the soul of all beings,He is the creator of seasons,And he is the giver of light.

He is the son of Adithi,He is the creator of the world,He makes us do things,He travels on the sky,He feeds the world by rain,He is the one with rays,He is the colour of Gold,He is always shining,He is responsible for creation,And he is the maker of the day.

He has green horses,He has thousands of rays,He rides on seven horses,He dispels darkness,He gives a pleasant life,He kills all life,He gives rebirth to those killed,He removes darkness,And he is resplendent in his glory.

He who keeps the golden source,He who cools down minds of devotees,He who bestows heat,He who is the source of light,He who is praised by every one,He who has fire within himself,He who is the son of adhithi,He who travels in the sky with pleasure,And he who melts cold.

He who is the lord of the sky,He who dispels darkness,He who is a master of Rig, Yajur and Sama veda,He who is the cause of heavy rains,He who is the friend of water,And he who travels over the Vindhyas swiftly.

He who gives heat,He who is of the global shape,He who is of the form of death,He who is of the colour of gold,He who heats everything,He who is in expert in knowledge,He who manages the universe,He who is of great brilliance,He who is dear to every one,And he who manages every event.

Salutations and salutations,To him who is fearful to the sinners,To him who is the hero,And to him who travels swiftly.Salutations to him who opens the lotus,And salutations and salutations,To him who makes men live.

Salutations to Him,Who is of the colour of molten gold,Who is of the form of fire,Who has created the world,Who destroys ignorance,Who is the subject of all that is loved,And to him who is the witness of the world.